All posts tagged Nas

New York-based rapper Nas has spent his career telling stories about growing up in the Queensbridge housing projects. His debut album, “Illmatic,” was declared and instant classic as it wove tales about living in a “N.Y. State of Mind” and still having “One Love” for incarcerated friends.

Filmmakers One9 and Erik Parker used those themes to frame the story behind making Nas’s seminal album in their own debut film, “Nas: Time Is Illmatic.”

“These guys are great,” Nas said at the premiere, hosted by Tribeca Film and Hennessey V.S. at the Museum of Modern Art in New York on Tuesday. “They got me and my brother to open up.” Read More »

Documentary filmmakers with films in the Tribeca Film Festival mingled at the Tribeca Press Lounge on 9th Avenue in Chelsea on Friday.

One9 and Erik Parker, first-time filmmakers whose documentary “Time is Illmatic” had premiered the night before, described the experience of walking the red carpet and being introduced by festival founders Robert de Niro and Jane Rosenthal on the festival’s opening night.

“We didn’t even know what that really meant until last night,” said One9, who directed the film, which is about the rapper Nas and his album “Illmatic.” “I’d never been to a film festival before.” Read More »

In 1994, Nasir Jones shifted the rap world with an album that captured a New York neighborhood engulfed by crack cocaine and violence that had killed his best friend. Twenty years later, his cinematic portrait of Queensbridge was celebrated at the gala opening of the Tribeca Film Festival.

On Wednesday night at the Beacon Theatre, the premiere of a documentary film about the album “Illmatic,” and a performance of it by Nas, functioned as a live retrospective of his early career. The 40-year-old rapper paced the stage and sent shout-outs to music producers in the audience–hip-hop game-changers in their own right–who made the sound of “Illmatic” as striking as his lyrical flow. Read More »

The Tribeca Film Festival is doubling down on music with films about James Brown and Bjork. An untitled, work-in-progress documentary about the Godfather of Soul, and a concert film spawned by the Icelandic singer’s “Biophilia” album/app join an already music-heavy lineup. The film festival opens April 16 in New York with “Time Is Illmatic,” a documentary about a landmark album released 20 years ago by Nas. The hometown rapper will perform songs from “Illmatic” at an opening-night concert at the Beacon Theatre, with tickets available to the public. Read More »

A new documentary about rapper Nas’s 1994 album “Illmatic” called “Time Is Illmatic” will open the Tribeca Film Festival on April 16, festival organizers announced Wednesday.

The film is directed by multimedia artist One9 and written by Erik Parker, and its premiere marks the 20th anniversary of Nas’s debut. On the festival’s opening night, the screening will be followed by a live performance by Nas of the full “Illmatic” playlist.

“I want to thank the Tribeca Film Festival for supporting the film with the incredible platform they’ve built over the years,” Nas said in a statement. “It’s an honor to premiere this film in my hometown. I also want to thank One9 and Erik Parker for their persistence and hard work. Those guys and I come from the same place and era, which gives the doc an authenticity that is important to me. We wanted this film to represent the real, from the storyline all the way down to the directors and producers.” Read More »

The famed Apollo Theater in Harlem appears on screen several times during the coming movie “Black Nativity,” and so the venue made the perfect place to host the world premiere of the film last night. The sight of the Apollo on the big screen drew cheers from the star-studded audience that gathered to celebrate the movie, which is due out Nov. 27.

On hand for the event–which included a screening and an afterparty at superchef Marcus Samuelsson‘s nearby Red Rooster restaurant–were cast members Jennifer Hudson, Angela Bassett, rapper-actor Nas, Jacob Latimore, and Forest Whitaker. Director Kasi Lemmons was also in attendance, along with producers T.D. Jakes and Trudie Styler, accompanied by her husband, rocker Sting.

Director Malcolm Lee–fresh off his film “The Best Man Holiday” pulling in $30.1 million at the box office–was also in the audience, something that the “Black Nativity” filmmakers should hope is a good omen. “We beat ‘Thor’ on Friday,” Lee said. Read More »

A new film adaptation of Langston Hughes’ stage drama “Black Nativity” comes complete with a soundtrack album that features performances by an all-star cast of vocalists, including Mary J. Blige, Nas and Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, whose song “Test of Faith” premieres today on Speakeasy, along with the previously released track “Be Grateful.”

Hudson in the film plays a single mother raising Langston (Jacob Latimore), who heads from Baltimore to New York to spend Christmas with his minister uncle and aunt, played by Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett, respectively. Chafing under his uncle’s strict rules, Langston sets out for home, and life lessons ensue.

From the sound of “Test of Faith,” Hudson’s character has already learned a few of her own. She sings the understated R&B ballad (written by executive producer Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson) with restrained power, wrapping her beautiful voice around wrenching lyrics as she builds to a ringing climax two-thirds of the way through the tune.

“Music From The Motion Picture ‘Black Nativity’” is due out Nov. 5 on RCA, and the movie hits theaters on Nov. 27. Listen to “Test of Faith” and “Be Grateful” below. Read More »

In her second posthumous collaboration with rapper Nas, Amy Winehouse can be heard on the single “Cherry Wine.” The song premiered on BBC’s radio one Tuesday night, and will be featured on Nas’ tenth studio album, “Life is Good.” The two singers first joined for “Like Smoke,” a single off Winehouse’s album “Lioness: Hidden Treasures.”

Both posthumous duets were produced by Salaam Remi. “I knew her musical roadmap,” Remi told Speakeasy after Winehouse’s death in July 2011, adding, “I live to make something happen with her voice, to make people remember who she was.”

Nas and Winehouse share the same birthday, September 14.

“She was truly a great jazz singer,” said Tony Bennett, who was the last singer to do a live recording with Winehouse. That song, “Body and Soul” is featured on Bennett’s album “Tony Bennett: Duets II.”

“Life is Good” is slated for a July 17 release. Listen to “Cherry Wine” here.

The traveling hip hop festival Rock the Bells, scheduled to hit the stage later on this summer, has announced its roster of talent. Kid Cudi, J. Cole, Nas, Wiz Khalifa, Lupe Fiasco, Ice Cube, Salt-N-Pepa, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Rza are just a few of the many artists scheduled to make appearances at the festival that will make stops at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California (Aug. 18-Aug. 19), Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California (Aug. 25-Aug. 26) and PNC Bank Arts Center in Homdel, New Jersey (Sept. 1-Sept.2). Tickets for the festival will be available on May 19th. What do you think of the lineup? Leave your thoughts in the comments. [Rockthebells.net] Read More »

Score another one for nostalgia. Continuing a tradition begun last year, this year’s Rock the Bells festival will feature two major headliners who will look back in time and perform the albums that made — or started — their careers. Lauryn Hill will perform “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” the 1998 album that firmly established her as a master lyricist and hip hop/neo-soul entertainer. Nas will perform his debut album “Illmatic.” Read More »

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